On May 13, 2017, President Donald J. Trump gave his first commencement address to the graduating class of Liberty University. In front of a crowd of at least 50,000 people in Williams Stadium, President Trump encouraged graduates to be the outsiders because outsiders do what other people think cannot be done. He told students to never give up, gave a special round of applause for all the mothers in the audience, and added in typical presidential speech details, such as appreciation for the military, equality not based on race, and “God bless America.” I was sitting at home in my pajamas, watching everything happen on a live stream as my family cheered for the graduates we knew, nodding along with Trump’s remarks. Thankfully, he said nothing particularly newsworthy about Russia or Obama’s administration or Hillary Clinton.
I was not disappointed in graduation. Was I worried about protesters and politics? Absolutely. May 13th was supposed to be a day for graduates and their families, and having a president speak was a bold decision that could have overshadowed everything. Although it did not, it did remind me of the disruption President Trump unintentionally causes our school. Many of us support him, and if I ever got the chance to meet him, I would quickly agree. However, we are tired of politics. So this is for you, Mr. President.
Dear President Donald J. Trump,
Thank you for speaking at Liberty University’s 44th Commencement. I can still remember when I found out you were speaking from a Facebook post I glanced at on my phone while I waited in line for my croissant and tea from Argo (it’s in the Montview Student Center, which I’m sure Jerry showed you). I quickly texted the first impending graduate I knew, who responded enthusiastically to the news, and was proud to be ahead of the gossip when your agreement to speak was announced in Convocation. Briefly, I considered volunteering at Commencement to get more of my hours of service required of me each semester, but then I decided against it. Spending time with family was more important and your presence guaranteed craziness.
By the time May arrived, everyone attending graduation or simply staying in Lynchburg was wished “good luck” because of you. Traffic was bound to block up everything, so even those not attending LU’s commencement ceremony were going to be affected. However, we could not deny that history was being made. People are always excited to witness history when they know it is happening, and the Liberty/Lynchburg community was no different. Thank you for bringing that excitement to our school. It was an honor to host history.
Thank you for getting us national attention. Your run for president was historical in itself, and our President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s public support of you turned America’s eyes to the Christian school nestled amongst the Blue Ridge Mountains. I saw more news trucks parked outside Vines Center during your campaign than I’ve seen in my whole life. At first it excited me. Now, most of us will merely wonder aloud “what did we do this time?” before continuing on our way to class.
Jerry has not slowed his support of you, hence the invitation to Commencement, and since I work in the Jerry Falwell Archives on campus I know almost everything he’s said about you. You two have caused plenty of controversies surrounding the Johnson Amendment alone, and I have no doubt the national attention will stay for as long as you are in office, possibly longer. When Jerry’s father supported Reagan, the same thing happened, although Mr. Reagan did not speak at LU’s Commencement. You could have gone somewhere bigger and more important, as he did, but you stuck by the Virginia private school of only 14,000 residential students. Thank you for your loyalty.
I cannot say ‘thank you’ forever though. Your relationship with Jerry is often annoying to some of us LU students. There was a day when Jerry wasn’t on the news at least once a week, where Convo was led by more pastors than politicians, and the most ‘news worthy’ part of our day was good mac and cheese at the Rot (Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, in case they didn’t tell you the nickname). We enjoyed the days of rare political Convos, when we got to hear opinions that shaped our country and form our own opinions about them. Liberty is conservative and mostly Republican, but we still invite people who are different than us, such as Lynchburg’s Democratic mayor, Senator Bernie Sanders, and presidential nominee Gary Johnson. You fit in well with us, though, because of your support of legal immigration and saying ‘Merry Christmas’ more, but the mountain of controversy that surrounded you, from the “locker room talk” to your tax returns, still caused a stir. I will not thank you for that. I came to college to have my opinions broadened, but not to be stressed by the world looking into my school- my home - for its politics. By speaking at Commencement, even when you didn’t say anything outrageous, you brought that around again.
Please don’t be offended, but I don’t want you to come back. I recognize that it is my privilege to not want to be involved in politics, and I still look at the news when I have the time, but I want my home to be my home. I don’t want Trump signs in dorm windows. I don’t want petitions circulating as you and Jerry make remarks to the nation. I don’t want to risk protestors at my commencement, even if that commencement does make history. I want peace at my home as we focus on our education, our following of Christ, and our future.
Commencement was great. Thank you for addressing our graduates with respect, making good jokes about our expanding football program, and taking the time (and risk) to meet one of our choirs. If one day my children ask me what I remember about your first commencement address, those are the details I will tell them. But if they ask if you came back after that, I hope I can tell them no. I hope I can say, “no, he left us at peace.”
Thank you,
An LU Junior
P.S We still remember “two Corinthians.”
